Warning that new consumption patterns in Europe and Central Asian countries are leading to complex health challenges, the United Nations food security agency on Thursday called for policies tailored to the income and nutrition profile of these developed countries to prevent them from “transitioning” to new forms of food and nutrition insecurity. ‘Triple’ malnutrition burdenAccording to FAO, undernutrition has largely been overcome in the region and only seven per cent of the population there live in countries where the predominant nutrition problems are undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. At present, 13 per cent of the region’s population lives in countries suffering from a “triple burden” of all three nutrition problems – undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and overnutrition – noted the report. Countries in the undernutrition group are on track to join the triple-burden category in the years ahead,” said the UN agency. Remedial measuresTo address these challenges, the report calls for exploring policies that address food insecurity, tailored to the income and nutrition profile of each country.

Source: Manila Times March 16, 2017 12:00 UTC